Marbled Dust leverages zero-day in Output Messenger for regional espionage


Since April 2024, the threat actor that Microsoft Threat Intelligence tracks as Marbled Dust has been observed exploiting user accounts that have not applied fixes to a zero-day vulnerability (CVE-2025-27920) in the messaging app Output Messenger, a multiplatform chat software.

These exploits have resulted in collection of related user data from targets in Iraq. Microsoft Threat Intelligence assesses with high confidence that the targets of the attack are associated with the Kurdish military operating in Iraq, consistent with previously observed Marbled Dust targeting priorities. Microsoft Threat Intelligence assesses with moderate confidence that Marbled Dust conducts reconnaissance to determine whether their targets are Output Messenger users and chooses this attack vector based on that knowledge. Successful exploitation allows the threat actor to deliver multiple malicious files and exfiltrate data from targets.

Read more…
Source: Microsoft


Sign up for our Newsletter
The latest news and insights delivered right to your inbox.


Related:

  • CVE-2026-21858: Maximum-severity n8n flaw lets randos run your automation server

    January 8, 2026

    A maximum-severity bug in the popular automation platform n8n has left an estimated 100,000 servers wide open to complete takeover, courtesy of a flaw so bad it doesn’t even require logging in. The vulnerability, uncovered by researchers at security outfit Cyera, carries a CVSS score of 10.0 and has been dubbed “ni8mare” for good reason. Tracked ...

  • North Korean Kimsuky Actors Leverage Malicious QR Codes in Spearphishing Campaigns Targeting U.S. Entities

    January 8, 2026

    The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is releasing this FLASH to alert NGOs, think tanks, academia, and other foreign policy experts with a nexus to North Korea of evolving tactics employed by the North Korean state-sponsored cyber threat group Kimsuky and to provide mitigation recommendations. As of 2025, Kimsuky actors have targeted think tanks, academic institutions, ...

  • Patch Cisco ISE bug now before attackers abuse proof-of-concept exploit

    January 8, 2026

    Cisco patched a bug in its Identity Services Engine (ISE) and ISE Passive Identity Connector (ISE-PIC) products that allows remote attackers with admin-level privileges to access sensitive information – and warned that a public, proof-of-concept exploit for the flaw exists online. ISE is Cisco’s network access control and security policy platform, and companies use it to ...

  • CISA warns of active attacks on HPE OneView and legacy PowerPoint

    January 8, 2026

    The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) added both a newly discovered flaw and a much older one to its catalog of Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV). The KEV catalog gives Federal Civilian Executive Branch (FCEB) agencies a list of vulnerabilities that are known to be exploited in the wild, along with deadlines for when they ...

  • Illinois health department exposed over 700,000 residents’ personal data for years

    January 8, 2026

    The health department for the U.S. state of Illinois has confirmed that a years-long security lapse exposed the personal information of more than 700,000 state residents. The Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) said in a statement on January 2 that an internal mapping website containing residents’ personal information, which officials used for assisting with the ...

  • Fake WinRAR downloads hide malware behind a real installer

    January 8, 2026

    A member of Malwarebytes Labs web research team pointed the author to a fake WinRAR installer that was linked from various Chinese websites. When these links start to show up, that’s usually a good indicator of a new campaign. So, the author downloaded the file and started an analysis, which turned out to be something of ...